William the Lion

William the Lion (1143-4 December 1214) was King of Scotland from 9 December 1165 to 4 December 1214, succeeding Malcolm IV of Scotland and preceding Alexander II of Scotland.

Biography
William was the son of Henry of Scotland and Ada de Warenne, and he was the brother of Malcolm IV of Scotland. His brother gave him control of Northumbria in 1152, but he had to give up this title to King Henry II of England in 1157. William inherited the throne of Scotland from his brother in 1165, and he took part in the 1173-1174 revolts against King Henry. At the Battle of Alnwick, William was captured by King Henry, and he was sent to Falaise in Normandy as Scotland was occupied. He was forced to acknowledge Henry as his feudal superior and to pay for the English occupation of Scotland, and he swore fealty to Henry in 1175. This led to a revolt in Galloway that lasted until 1186, and William spent several years crushing rebellions. In 1189, King Richard the Lionheart of England agreed to terminate Scotland's vassalage in exchange for a hefty payment, which he used to fund the Third Crusade. In 1194, William failed to purchase Northumbria, as King Richard was unwilling to give up the castles of the region. In 1209, King John of England invaded Scotland, hoping to capitalize on the flagging age of the monarch, and William was forced to marry off his daughters to English nobles. He continued to depend on English goodwill until his death at Stirling in 1214.